Collection teams will remove any sacks that are presented for collection that are in addition to those paid for by subscription

New sacks will not be issued to customers who are renewing the subscription as it is assumed that they will continue to use the sacks from the previous subscription year

The sacks can be used for the following materials: grass cuttings, hedge clippings, flowers and non-invasive weeds, leaves, twigs and small branches with a diameter of less than 75mm

The sacks cannot be used for: kitchen waste, invasive weeds (such as Japanese Knotweed or Himalayan Balsam), large branches, logs or tree stumps, Christmas trees, animal waste and bedding, or non-organic waste such as plastic plants pots

Collection day

Collections of garden waste will be made once a fortnight, with the exception of a four week period between mid-December and mid-January

A collection calendar will be posted to you within 10 working days of joining or renewing your subscription to the garden waste scheme and is also available to view online

NFDC reserves the right to change your collection day for operational reasons and will notify you in advance should changes need to take place

Garden waste sacks must be presented for collection by 6am on collection day

Sacks must be placed just within the property boundary nearest to the public road or access point, unless otherwise agreed with NFDC

Assisted collections are available to residents who are physically unable to move the sack to the collection point and where there is nobody available to help them in the household. Contact customer.services@nfdc.gov.uk for more information

Collection teams will only empty the number of sacks that have been paid for by the customer

Teams will not return to collect sacks that were presented for collection after 6am on collection day, in the wrong location or that were contaminated with materials that are not collected as part of this scheme

If a sack is contaminated, the team will leave a card to advise what needs to be removed before the next scheduled collection

The maximum weight of the sack presented for collection should be no more than 20kg. Sacks weighing more than this will not be collected

The team will return the sack to the collection point after emptying

If the sack has been presented correctly but has been missed by the team, the customer can report this to customer.services@nfdc.gov.ukwithin 48 hours, and leave the sack just within the property boundary for collection. It may take up to two working days for a team to make this collection

There may be exceptional circumstances (such as winter weather or unexpected road closures) that prevent garden waste collections taking place for safety or operational reasons. Information about changes to collections under these circumstances will be posted on the NFDC website and on Twitter nfdc_updates

No refunds will be given for collections missed due to circumstances beyond NFDC's control

Charging and cancellations

The garden waste scheme is intended for use by domestic residents only. Businesses should contact the trade waste officer for advice

The collection year runs from April - March

Customers may join the scheme at any point during the year. There is a sliding scale of charges if you join later in the collection year which can be viewed on the NFDC website

Subscriptions to the garden waste scheme are allocated to the customer and not the property. Subscriptions are not transferable between people (e.g. if you move house and the new owners wish to continue using the service they must subscribe themselves)

If the customer moves to another property within the district they must notify NFDC at least 10 working days before collections are required at the new address and take the sack with them. Failure to notify NFDC in time may result in missed collections

The cost of the service is non-refundable unless there are extenuating circumstances and then part-refunds may be made at the discretion of the Waste and Recycling Manager

Customers paying by Direct Debit will be notified of subscription charges to be debited from their account in advance

Failure to make payment to cover the next collection year by the renewal date stated in the reminder notice could result in the service being removed until payment is made. No refunds will be made for collections missed due to late payment

Customers not paying by Direct Debit will be sent a reminder in advance of the renewal date to renew their subscription